San Diego: CCA and solar install on Friday - do I stay with CCA, do I have a choice? Other noob questions

[SanDiegoM3]

Hi everyone! I'm getting my Tesla solar installed on Friday and I'm currently on EV-TOU-5 and I'm in the CCA instead of SDGE. Is there any practical difference between being with the CCA versus SDGE? If there is, do I have the option to swap to SDGE as part of going solar, or maybe after September when I hit 12 months?

Does it matter what my true-up month is and can I change it? On SDGE's website the wholesale rate credits are almost $0.15 for February 2023! All the articles make it seem like the true-up rate is based on the annual true-up month - which I guess is at PTO, is that true?

Excess Generation | San Diego Gas & Electric

www.sdge.com

Since I'm NEM 2.0 do I still get NBCs even if I'm a net producer for that month, or is any power draw from SDGE hit with NBCs?

Should I stay on EV-TOU-5 if I'm a net producer? I'll have a couple thousand KW extra.

 

[RichardCullip]

I can answer a few of your questions. I can't address the CCA vs SDG&E question since I'm in Poway and only have the choice of SDG&E

If you will truly be a net producer there are better rate plans than EV-TOU-5 which has a fixed $16.00 per month charge. On all rate plans under NEM 2.0 you will be charged NBCs for any power you draw from the grid. SDG&E calculates the net energy from the grid in 15 min increments and charges you NBCs for the energy you draw from the grid during each 15min period. I am a net producer and have found that SDG&E's TOU-DR rate is the best for my situation where I generate enough credits during the Off-Peak period to offset the cost incurred during Peak and Super Off-Peak periods. Therefore I pay the ~$10.00 minimum daily charge plus any NBCs I have.

For SDG&E the 12 month true-up date is set by your PTO date. I don't know if that can be changed.

 

[OldPro]

Hi everyone! I'm getting my Tesla solar installed on Friday and I'm currently on EV-TOU-5 and I'm in the CCA instead of SDGE. Is there any practical difference between being with the CCA versus SDGE? If there is, do I have the option to swap to SDGE as part of going solar, or maybe after September when I hit 12 months?

Does it matter what my true-up month is and can I change it? On SDGE's website the wholesale rate credits are almost $0.15 for February 2023! All the articles make it seem like the true-up rate is based on the annual true-up month - which I guess is at PTO, is that true?

Excess Generation | San Diego Gas & Electric

www.sdge.com

Since I'm NEM 2.0 do I still get NBCs even if I'm a net producer for that month, or is any power draw from SDGE hit with NBCs?

Should I stay on EV-TOU-5 if I'm a net producer? I'll have a couple thousand KW extra.

I was tempted to go CCA but thought I'd wait a year or so to see how it works out. I'm fairly convinced that SDGE will do everything in their power to make those that went with CCA have an unpleasant experience as possible. Frankly I get bored trying to keep up with SDGE's antics to confuse the solar panel owning public with their constant trips to the PUC whining how SDGE needs another rate increase to further their record profits. Where is our Governor with Presidential aspirations out helping the rate paying Californians? We are just getting hosed...

 

[Redhill_qik]

Hi everyone! I'm getting my Tesla solar installed on Friday and I'm currently on EV-TOU-5 and I'm in the CCA instead of SDGE. Is there any practical difference between being with the CCA versus SDGE? If there is, do I have the option to swap to SDGE as part of going solar, or maybe after September when I hit 12 months?

Does it matter what my true-up month is and can I change it? On SDGE's website the wholesale rate credits are almost $0.15 for February 2023! All the articles make it seem like the true-up rate is based on the annual true-up month - which I guess is at PTO, is that true?

Excess Generation | San Diego Gas & Electric

www.sdge.com

Since I'm NEM 2.0 do I still get NBCs even if I'm a net producer for that month, or is any power draw from SDGE hit with NBCs?

Should I stay on EV-TOU-5 if I'm a net producer? I'll have a couple thousand KW extra.

Check your CCA'a policy for excess kWh, most pay more than your IOU. My CCA pays 2x what PG&E pays for net kWh at the annual true-up.

 

[SanDiegoM3]

Here's a useful CCA link for anyone in the future.

Net Energy Metering (NEM) - Table - San Diego Community Power

Net Energy Metering (NEM) For customers with clean energy generation systems (like solar panels), learn about our NEM program’s benefits, billing and true-up processes.

sdcommunitypower.org

I don't yet know how the credits/charges provided monthly necessarily work yet, though you CAN go to an annual true-up with the CCA. One part I don't like about being billed monthly as a net producer is I don't want to pay anything in winter months if my summer is going to carry me through the year and someone starting in the winter is going to be paying when the summer would fix the issue. Since my 12 months is up in September I'll have a few months to see how my production and billing goes.

How SDCP’s NEM program compares with SDG&E’s NEM​

SDCP’s NEM Program:​

• Energy drawn from the grid is 50% to 100% renewable
• Credits/charges provided monthly
• No big bill shock at annual true-up from SDCP thanks to standard monthly billing of generation.
• Compensation for net annual surplus: wholesale rate + $0.0075 cents/kWh
• Automatic checks for compensation amounts of $100 or more, up to $2,500 per account.

SDG&E’s NEM Program:​

• Energy is only 31% renewable
• Credits/charges provided once annually
• Annual billing for residential customers
• Compensated at wholesale rate
• Have to call contact center and request refund check

San Diego CCA Solar FAQ at bottom of link. Net producers should contact CCA to go annual true-up

FAQs - San Diego Community Power

Frequently Asked Questions and their Answers: Have questions about Community Choice or San Diego Community Power? Check out our FAQs on this page. You might find the answer you’re looking

sdcommunitypower.org

 

[gaswalla]

I switched out of my CCA after 2 months of being auto enrolled. I have 60 panels - huge system. In the winter months, with all the rain and clouds this year, I was a net consumer, (but in the summer, I am a huge net-producer).. the CCA is set up folks that 'don't have enough panels' so that they don't have to pay one huge lump sum when you tru-up once a year. With SDGE, I never paid a penny in the winter and was tru-up'd to zero dollars or some miniscule positive payment every year.
Note, the CCA 'premium' of 3/4 of a cent per net produced kwh is laughable
CCA's are now more expensive than SDGE (and that is really hard to fathom honestly)... Let's see how this post ages, but CCA's in current form are doomed to failure

 

[Redhill_qik]

I switched out of my CCA after 2 months of being auto enrolled. I have 60 panels - huge system. In the winter months, with all the rain and clouds this year, I was a net consumer, (but in the summer, I am a huge net-producer).. the CCA is set up folks that 'don't have enough panels' so that they don't have to pay one huge lump sum when you tru-up once a year. With SDGE, I never paid a penny in the winter and was tru-up'd to zero dollars or some miniscule positive payment every year.
Note, the CCA 'premium' of 3/4 of a cent per net produced kwh is laughable
CCA's are now more expensive than SDGE (and that is really hard to fathom honestly)... Let's see how this post ages, but CCA's in current form are doomed to failure

In general I have found most CCAs offering slightly better rates than PG&E. Assuming that your CCA was San Diego Community Power then the rate comparison would be following for PCIA vintage years 2021 and 2022.

TOU	SDG&E DRSES Generation​	SDCP DR-SES Generation​	Vintage 2021 PCIA = $0.01687​	Vintage 2022 PCIA = $0.04439​
Summer Peak	0.53067​	0.49211​	0.50898​	0.53650​
Summer Off-Peak	0.19567​	0.1708​	0.18767​	0.21519​
Summer Super Off-Peak	0.09233​	0.07169​	0.08856​	0.11608​
Winter Peak	0.22487​	0.19977​	0.21664​	0.24416​
Winter Off-Peak	0.16213​	0.13863​	0.15550​	0.18302​
Winter Super Off-Peak	0.08402​	0.06372​	0.08059​	0.10811​

If you had joined in 2021 your rates would be lower with SDCP versus SDG&E. If you joined in 2022 then your rates would be higher with SDCP than with SDG&E, which should come down next year when the PCIA is recalculated. Here is the full table of current SDG&E PCIA rates:

On the net surplus compensation, SDG&E will give you the average Net Surplus Compensation rate for the prior year, which is currently $0.05679 for Apr-22 through Mar-23 and SDCP will give you that plus $0.0075 which is 13.2% higher. You might think that is insulting, but it is higher than with SDG&E pays.

 

[gaswalla]

I am looking at numbers for current and moving forward... the 3/4 of a penny that CCA gives is insulting compared to the ongoing extra cost per month

 

[Redhill_qik]

I am looking at numbers for current and moving forward...

For a new convert to SDCP you would pay slightly higher this year, but moving forward you would likely be paying less like the people that joined SDCP in 2021 and 2020 who are paying less. Once you move away from your IOU you get a fixed vintage year and the trend is lower year-by-year while the current year remains higher. Staying with SDG&E doesn't avoid the PCIA cost, it is just embedded in the generation cost. PG&E has this reported separately in the unbundled tariff rates, I'm not sure why SDG&E hasn't switched to this as I thought the CPUC mandated the unbundling.

the 3/4 of a penny that CCA gives is insulting compared to the ongoing extra cost per month

SDG&E would pay $0.05679 (for Apr'22 to Mar'22) and SDCP would pay $0.06429 for the annual excess kWh. How is that insulting? Going back to SDG&E means you would make less as a net consumer. Some CCAs pay at the same rate as the IOU, some pay slightly more and at least on still pays at the retail rates. My CCA pays at 2x the NSC rate currently.

Remember that most of this excess kWh is sent to the grid in the summer during the day when the IOUs were likely curtailing large scale generation as the grid consumption is lower than the potential supply. Even right now in the San Diego region the CAISO pricing for generation is $45-50/MWh or $0.045 to $0.050/kWh.